Bernard Pollard: Justin Hunter can destroy a defense

Posted by Michael David Smith on August 15, 2013, 12:50 PM EDT

AP

Titans safety Bernard Pollard thinks one of the most dangerous receivers he’ll face this year is a receiver he faces on the practice field — and who is currently buried deep on Tennessee’s depth chart.

“When Justin realizes he can go in there and single-handedly destroy a defense, I think this team is going to be in for something,’’ Pollard said, via Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean. “And we need Justin Hunter to perform now, we can’t wait. Because we are chasing that Lombardi Trophy and he’s the kind of guy who could help us get it.”

Pollard compares Hunter to Bengals receiver A.J. Green, and Pollard believes Hunter can be every bit as good as Green.

“I can’t wait until Justin Hunter realizes that he is a star,’’ Pollard said. “I can’t wait until he realizes that. It is out of control how good that guy could be.”

At the moment, Hunter is no better than the Titans’ fifth receiver, behind Kenny Britt, Nate Washington, Kendall Wright and Damian Williams. He’ll have to prove he belongs on the field at all before he can destroy a defense.

Love the guys talent. Gotta come to work though. Scary to think how good a team of him, Britt, and Wright could be if ALL of them had their heads on straight. And if they had someone decent throwing them the ball.

Hunter is a tall skinny kid, with some speed, who can jump – which is probably why Pollard says he’s hard to cover, but it takes a whole lot more than that to be productive in the NFL. Kids like end up buried on the bench or Practice Squads every year.

Not drinking the Kool-Aid, but I don’t worry about “Hunter getting ripped by the coaches” stories. They’re riding him hard because they want him to be ready to play,and if Britt/Washington/Wright miss any time, Hunter could see significant snaps. Especially if Britt goes down (and he has that history).

Hunter’s a really well (but soft)-spoken kid who takes the hard coaching in stride. Obvious raw talent but missed a lot of time in OTAs with a hamstring that they were cautious about, and just now seems to be showing more with his practice reps.

Not expecting too much but still looking forward to seeing how the Titans use Britt and Hunter. If Dowell Loggains is really influenced more by how Mike Heimerdinger used to do things, they will push it down the field more this year.